Tag Archives: exalted

I Will Awaken the Dawn

07 Saturday Sep 2024

Posted by in Psalm 57

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I will praise the LORD!Psalm 139_19-22 -365

Reading: Psalm 57:7-11

My heart, O God, is steadfast,
    my heart is steadfast;
    I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul!
    Awake, harp and lyre!
    I will awaken the dawn.
  I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
    let your glory be over all the earth. *

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* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

A gripping read from David Kitz
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Exalted to the Highest Place

29 Wednesday May 2024

Posted by in Psalm 2, Psalms

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Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.Psalm 2_7-8

Reading: Psalm 2

Dear Lord Jesus,
thank you for your unconditional love.
You want only the best for me.
I yield to you.
Help me to embrace your will
and purpose for my life.
I trust in you.
I love you, Lord.
With my lips I kiss the Son.
Amen.

— — —

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:8-11), NIV)*

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

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Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

New from David Kitz
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To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Treasures in the Human Trash

11 Thursday Jan 2024

Posted by in Psalm 113

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Reading: Psalm 113
Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, you his servants;
praise the name of the LORD.
Let the name of the LORD be praised,
both now and forevermore.
 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
The LORD is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the LORD our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.
He settles the childless woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD (NIV). *

silhouette of a person under the beautiful northern lights

Photo by Pat Whelen on Pexels.com

Reflection
In today’s reading the psalmist has a question for you and here it is: Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

Who indeed? Why would the exalted One, the enthroned One, stoop down? How undignified! Doesn’t the LORD know kings and potentates don’t bend over or stoop down? They certainly don’t do that sort of thing in public—not where they can be seen by others. Rulers rule from the seat of authority. They sit; they don’t stoop down. But our God stoops down. If the truth be told, it’s even worse than that.

The LORD gets His hands dirty. Actually, He has been getting His hands dirty from the very beginning. The LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7). Now that was a failed experiment if there ever was one. Those living, breathing human dust bags showed no gratitude. They disobeyed God at the first opportunity and down through the generations, humanity has continued that pattern of disobedience and ingratitude.

Now in this psalm we read this: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. Why would God show such affection for fallen humanity—humans who keep plunging deeper into the mire? There is no greater mystery. Our God keeps finding treasures in the trash—the human trash.

Yet I keep wondering why anyone would stoop so low. Why would the One, who sits enthroned on high, stoop so low—low enough to die a criminal’s death on a cross? Why did the Lord stoop to rescue me?

Response: Father God, your love is beyond comprehension. Thank you for stooping down and involving yourself in my life. When I reach out to you, Father God, you lift me up. I praise you, LORD. Amen.

Your Turn: When did the LORD lifted you from the ash heaps of this life? How did that make you feel?

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

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Please pray for peace to return to Israel and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.TheElishaCodeCVR5

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

You Make Me Glad

20 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by in Psalm 92

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I will praise the LORD!

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Early morning mist on the Ottawa River — photo by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 92:4-8

For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
    I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, LORD,
    how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.
   But you, LORD, are forever exalted.

* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

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Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer has won the 2021 Best Book of the Year Award and for those who love God’s word, it’s an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. For a closer look at Volumes II and III click here.

Above the Heavens

06 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by in Psalm 108

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Today’s verse from the Psalms
Psalm 108_4-5Heavenly Father,
 I genuinely appreciate your love and faithfulness.
You are always good,
loving and worthy of praise.
Be exalted in my life.
In Jesus name, I pray.
Amen.

The first volume of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer by award-winning author David Kitz is now available. For a closer look at this 262-page daily devotional book click here.

He Is Greatly Exalted

09 Saturday May 2020

Posted by in Bible, Psalm 47, Psalms

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I will praise the LORD!

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My hope is in you all day long — photo by David Kitz

God reigns over the nations;
    God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
    as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
    he is greatly exalted.

  (Psalm 47:8-9, NIV)*

* New International Version, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Be Still, and Know That I Am God

02 Saturday May 2020

Posted by in Bible, Psalm 46, Psalms

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I will praise the LORD!

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Peace like a river — photo by David Kitz

Come and see what the LORD has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

  (Psalm 46:8-11, NIV)*

* New International Version, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

The LORD is Holy

02 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in Bible, Devotionals, Monday Meditation, Psalm 99, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 99

(Verses 1-5)
The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.
Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name—
he is holy.
The King is mighty, he loves justice—
you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy (NIV).

Reflection
What does it mean to be holy? There are several shades of meaning for the word holy. It can mean being consecrated or dedicated for a special purpose. It also means righteous. But the definition that fits best in the light of Psalm 99 reads like this: awe-inspiring—having a character that evokes reverence (Encarta Dictionary).

2018-03-22 L Kranz

Photo courtesy of Liz Kranz.

The psalmist is effusive with his praise for the LORD, but three times in this short psalm, he centers back to this phrase: he is holy. Yes, the LORD reigns, He is righteous and exalted, but what has really caught the psalmist’s attention is the LORD’s holiness. That’s what sets Him apart and elevates Him above the stratosphere.

Has the LORD’s holiness caught your attention? Have you been filled with awe by the holiness of God? I fear that far too often we have diminished God. We have tried to make Him like us—powerful but a bit quirky—maybe short-tempered or set in His ways. What nonsense! Our God is holy. We need to wake up to that fact. It must be central to our understanding of God.

In the Beatitudes from his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). To clarify, I might add that the pure in heart will see the true God, not a distorted caricature. Our sinful nature has a way of distorting our view of the LORD. That’s why personal purity and holiness are so essential. The apostle Peter provides this admonition: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). 

Response: LORD God, I want to see you at work in my life. Help me with the help of your Holy Spirit to clean up those areas that distort my view of you. You are holy. I worship you in the beauty of your holiness. Amen. 

Your Turn: Are there times when you have seen God as short-tempered or set in His ways? Have you avoided God’s call to holiness?

Beyond Olympic Glory

26 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in Bible, Devotionals, Psalm 89, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 89

(Verses 5-13)
The heavens praise your wonders, LORD,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.
Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?
You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.
You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm is endowed with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted (NIV).

Reflection
At this point memories of the Olympics are in the past. We can talk ourselves into believing that those golden podium moments will last forever, but they don’t. They are highlights in athletic achievement and well worth celebrating. In some events world records have been set, but in due time they will be broken. It seems they always are.

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Blue skies and snow covered spruce — photo by David Kitz

How do we determine gold medal performances? By comparison of course. That’s what Olympic competition is all about. The results of a team or athlete are compared with others in their field. Though many compete on the local, national and world stage, only the very best bring home Olympic gold.

That’s how winners are determined on the human level—the world level. But what about the heavenly level—the spiritual level? How are the best and most powerful determined there? In our reading from Psalm 89, the psalmist attempts to come up with an answer.

For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.
Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?

The truth is obvious. There is no point in comparison. The LORD God Almighty is incomparable.  He wins every race since He is enthroned beyond time. As the Creator, He is the source—the starting point—of all power in heaven and on earth. His wisdom is so beyond the best human mind. He is incomparable!

Response: LORD God, I marvel at your wisdom and power. But most of all I marvel at your love—love that encompasses all—even me. Help me to excel at pleasing you. Thank you, LORD! Amen.

Your Turn: Do you enjoy watching the Olympics? Is there value in competition?